The Prince of Wales revealed the news to the Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson during an investiture at Windsor Castle

Princess Charlotte has taken up yet another sporty hobby, Prince William has revealed

When the Princess of Wales celebrated Princess Charlotte’s birthday this month, the 10-year-old royal was in full action girl gear, dressed in a camouflage jacket and rucksack for an adventurous-looking walk with her mother in the rolling hills of Cumbria. It was clear that the Wales daughter was truly following in Kate’s sporty footprints, and now Prince William has revealed yet another face-paced activity to which Princess Charlotte has turned her hand – or, perhaps, trainers.

Speaking with Olympic middle-distance running champion Keely Hodgkinson as he awarded her an MBE at Windsor Castle, the Prince of Wales revealed that his daughter is turning into quite the keen runner herself. ‘The Prince told me his daughter is doing the 400m at the minute and the hurdles, and that she did watch me in Paris,’ said the 23-year-old gold medalist. ‘He told me that he remembers me winning and that he wished he could be there to see it himself.’

The daughter of the Prince and Princess of Wales is known for her love of sports, pictured here in 2019 at the King Power Royal Charity Polo Match

Like Catherine, Charlotte has tried her hand at archery, shooting some arrows during the The Big Help Out in 2023

While Prince William did not attend the Olympics in Paris last year, due to concerns over possibly exposing the Princess of Wales to illness while she underwent her chemotherapy treatment, the nation roared Keely Hodgkinson to the top of the podium in the 800m race. Could Princess Charlotte have been watching along, too? The young royal is currently studying at Lambrook School along with her siblings, Prince George and Prince Louis, and it seems that she has been taking up athletics as part of her studies. Prince William, of course, was more partial to rugby while at Eton (but became something of a water polo star at St Andrews) and has since initiated Prince George into his love of football.

Prince William, President of the FA, is no stranger to letting his feelings be known when watching his beloved Aston Villa football team play

 Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

Princess Charlotte has recently been joining her mother in the Royal Box at Wimbledon – here, she cheers while watching Carlos Alcaraz vs Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon 2023 men’s final  

Princess Charlotte, too, seems to have inherited her father’s knack for the beautiful game. Back in 2022, Prince William visited the Lionesses’ training ground at St George’s Park and revealed that his daughter had taken quite a shine to football. ‘Charlotte wanted me to tell you that she’s really good in goal. She said, “Please tell them that,”’ the Prince told the England women’s football team Captain, Leah Williamson.

It’s no surprise that the Princess is so sporty: her mother, the Princess of Wales, was a star of the hockey team while studying at Marlborough College, and is famous for her love of tennis. As Patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Catherine is a regular in the royal box at Wimbledon (as, in more recent years, is Princess Charlotte) and has even played a match against Roger Federer.

The Princess of Wales grew up in a very sporty family, telling Mike Tindall how she spent her childhood enjoying the outdoors. ‘I can always remember being physical, using our bodies, whether it’s walking, climbing the Lake District, in Scotland [or] swimming from a young age,’ she recounted during a recording of Tindall’s podcast, ‘The Good, The Bad and the Rugby’.

The Princess of Wales spent time teaching her daughter how to play netball

Prince William had just as a sporty an upbrining as his wife, representing Scotland during a universities water polo tournament

It’s clearly a spirit that the Princess of Wales is keen to instil in her own children. During a game of netball with champion Ama Agbeze in 2023, the Princess of Wales revealed that she has been offering Charlotte some tips and tricks when it comes to the school-favourite sport. ‘She said she had been teaching her daughter how to shoot in netball,’ Agbeze said after meeting Catherine, adding that the Princess of Wales has ‘still got it’, having seen her shoot some hoops.